ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Biotechnology
This article is part of the Research TopicMutagenesis-Based Development of Novel Germplasm Resource for Crops and Horticultural PlantsView all 4 articles
Effects of acute and chronic gamma irradiations on regeneration of tissue types from selected Ugandan cassava genotypes
Provisionally accepted
Hellen Apio1
Emmanuel Ogwok2*
Noralzina B. Noordin3Peter Waswa4
Titus Alicai1John Odipio1Settumba B. Mukasa4
Isaac Kofi Bimpong5- 1National Crops Resources Research Institute, Kampala, Uganda
- 2Lira University, Lira, Uganda
- 3Agrotechnology and Biosciences Division, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi, 43000 Kajang Selangar, Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
- 4Makerere University School of Agricultural Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
- 5Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Vienna, Austria
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Acute and chronic gamma irradiations (ACGIs) has facilitated generation of new varieties that can withstand abiotic and biotic stresses. This study examined the impact of ACGI doses on the regenerative ability of in vitro embryogenic tissues into complete plants. Tissues from nine genotypes (Alado, NASE 13, NASE 19, NAROCASS 1, CV_193, CV_98/0505, CV_60444, BAO, and reference Ubi Putih) were subjected to acute gamma irradiation (AGI) across six dose levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35 Gy). Five genotypes (Ubi Putih, CV_60444, Alado, NASE 13, NAROCASS 1) were exposed to chronic gamma irradiation (CGI) for one to four weeks. Ten explants per genotype per dose were evaluated. Mean shoot length was used to calculate the growth reduction dose (GR50), and cell structure changes were analyzed using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Exposure of tissues to AGI and CGI enhanced shoots, roots, leaf regeneration as well as shoot length at dose rates of 5 -20 Gy (AGI) and 46 Gy (CGI) at two This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article weeks. The calculated GR50 varied across genotypes and irradiation types. Histological analysis confirmed that distinct structural changes in cell and tissue morphology were linked to irradiation exposure. These results demonstrate that ACGIs can induce accelerated regeneration and structural variation in embryogenic cassava tissues, revealing the potential to develop novel varieties with improved stress resilience. The study underscores ACGIs as a viable biotechnological tool in mutation breeding and genetic improvement of root crops.
Keywords: Acute and chronic gamma irradiations, cassava genotypes, plant tissue culture, Regeneration, Tissue types
Received: 15 Oct 2025; Accepted: 24 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Apio, Ogwok, Noordin, Waswa, Alicai, Odipio, Mukasa and Bimpong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Emmanuel Ogwok
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